A quiet home day

So many of my days are filled with running around, where I'm actually running to, I'm not always sure. It seems that by dinner time most nights I look back on my day and it is a blur of grocery shopping, the ever elusive hunt for good organic farm eggs and picking up after my family. I am often exhausted, the kids are cranky and I feel like I have had a full day, but I don't really have anything to show for it (except a good meal on the table).

So today when I woke up to the rain, a sight I haven't seen for a while, I put on my cozy pants and sipped my coffee with the giddy permission to stay inside and have a quiet home day. As my little one slept, my older one rested in his room listening to a book on tape. And I, in my cozy pants glory, began to work on my very first quilt. Now, I'm no quilting master, but there is something amazing about being able to make something useful for my house. To bring it together piece by piece and see its unique beauty unfold before me. I had such a sense of satisfaction by 11:30 that the shower I took felt well earned.

The rest of the day was filled with reading stories, playing castles, eating lunch together (my other half eats with us too), watching my son play in the rain and mud and yes, a few chores and a healthy meal on the table. I didn't go anywhere today, I didn't buy anything, I just slowed down and was present, patient and willing with my kids. By dinnertime I wasn't exhausted, my kids weren't cranky and I feel like I have accomplished something today. Not only did I start a beautiful quilt, but I gave myself, and my kids the gift of just being present in the moment, having a conversation with my 4 year old over a cup of tea, watching my daughter giggle with joy on the rocking horse and just slowing down enough to have a quiet home day.